“I appreciate you covering for me.”
“If the tables were turned, I’m sure you would have done the same.” His eyes focused on the bruise. “Are you okay?”
“My collarbone is a little tender. When I get a chance, I’ll run down to the imaging department and have someone take an X-ray.”
“Would you like me to do that for you?”
“No. I’ve kept you here long enough. I’ll wait until things settle down a bit, then I’ll get someone to take care of it. So, what did I miss?”
“A baby girl, last name Perkins, born with spina bifida. Birth by C-section, near full-term, but she weighed about four pounds, one ounce. She was transported here by helicopter from John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. The opening level was an approximate L1, and the long-term prognosis does not look good,” Miles recited.
“Have you spoken with the parents yet?”
“The mother is still hospitalized at John Muir. There was no mention of a father. The baby arrived alone.”
Sydney felt a sudden sadness. As a pediatric neurosurgeon, having to be the one who shattered parents’ dreams for their children was the most difficult part of her job. She couldn’t imagine being a mother, especially a single mother, learning that her child would face lifelong medical challenges and being helpless to do anything about it. She forced a smile and changed the subject. “How about I buy you an early lunch?”
A coy smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“Food sounds wonderful right about now, but I have to take a rain check. I was just about to cancel my Comcast installation for this afternoon, but since you’re here, I think I can still make it to my loft in time for the appointment. I’ve watched the Love Jones and Boomerang DVDs so much in the last two months that I know every single word, and that’s scary.” They laughed in unison.
“A rain check it is, then. Maybe we can go someplace other than the hospital cafeteria and I can bring along my girlfriend, Payton.”
Sydney watched Miles closely as he smothered a groan and shook his head. He’d transferred here from Chicago a couple of months ago, and she guessed his reaction was related to the residual effects of other staff members trying to make a love connection for him. Miles certainly didn’t look like he needed any help in that department.
“I think you would like her.”
Miles lowered his head, and a hint of a smile exposed his dimples.
“She’s a very attractive woman,” Sydney said convincingly.
He held the door to the NICU open, making room for Sydney to pass under his makeshift bridge. Their pagers went off in unison. He spoke first.
“It’s probably the Perkins baby. C’mon, I’ll help you get started.”
Sydney shook her head. “Miles, you go home. You’ve already been here for sixteen hours and you look exhausted. If I need an extra hand, Julia can help me.”
Miles clipped his pager back onto his belt. “I really don’t mind.”
“Didn’t you just say you had a Comcast appointment to keep?”
Miles nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I do. But call me if you need me,” he said, before he turned on his heels and disappeared down the corridor.
As the double doors of the NICU closed behind her, Sydney found herself bombarded with the synchronized sounds of mechanical breathing. The space was large, with a circular nurses’ station situated in the middle of the room. Multicolored lifelines attached to the tiny incubators were visible, and regulated beeps filled the room. Her eyes locked on a young couple standing over a tiny infant lying on her back. The child was motionless—a girl, she guessed by the pink cap that rested beside her in the clear bassinette. Her head was wrapped snugly with gauze to stabilize the IV inserted in the vein that ran down the front of her forehead. The mother was on one side, gently brushing her finger along the side of the baby’s cheek, and the father on the other side rested his index finger in the baby’s tiny palm. Sydney felt sad. Most of the babies in NICU had somebody who cared about them, but there were others who had not been touched or held by anyone other than doctors and nurses in weeks.
“Over here, Dr. James,” one of the nurses called, seizing her attention.
Sydney made her way across the aisle, gazed down at the baby, and sighed before removing the stethoscope from her coat pocket. She hoped there was something she could do to make life more bearable for the baby, even if it was only for a little while.
Surviving the Chase Page 21